


And Zombies

by misura



Category: The Will Darling Adventures - K.J. Charles
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, M/M, Pre-Slash, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27859145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Two men and a ruined collection of Shakespearean sonnets (to say nothing of the knife).
Relationships: Will Darling/Kim Secretan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	And Zombies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [othersideofthis (hikaru)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hikaru/gifts).



The books that had once felt almost menacing now felt like a comfort, like being in the trenches again, but with the additional security of knowing no one would be ordering him 'up and at them', because the only ones in the shop were Will and, as of two days ago, Kim.

"You do realize, I hope, that we can't stay here forever."

Will had in fact realized this, after making an inventory of what food remained and recalculating how long it would last now that there was an extra mouth to feed.

"The longer we stay, the better I like our odds of finding the coast more or less clear," he said, pausing before adding, "Unless you have any information indicating otherwise?"

Will still wasn't clear on what it was Kim _did_ , precisely. He'd have happily accepted 'nothing of any consequence or value whatsoever', but while Kim's pistol more closely resembled a work of art than a weapon, Will had seen him use it.

Granted, he'd been a bit busy keeping a zombie chewing its way through a valuable collection of Shakespearean sonnets from switching courses to something more meaty at the time, but even so, Will dared say he recognized sniper-quality marksmanship when it saved his life. (The collection of sonnets, alas, had been relegated to the 'burn before reading' pile.)

"Not a bit of it, I'm afraid," Kim said, looking and sounding honestly regretful. "I do note we've had fewer visitors yesterday than the day before, so you may be right about waiting this out as long as possible."

"I guess zombies aren't big readers," Will joked. He liked to think he'd begun to find his footing as a bookman, a shop owner, before whatever had happened happened.

Even so, he couldn't deny that this past week he'd felt alive in a way he hadn't in a long time, since coming home from the war - though 'home' might be too generous a term.

"I think it might be the smell of the books," Kim said, though he smiled a bit at Will's joke. "Masks the scent of fresh human meat."

Will supposed that might be true. "So what do you suggest, we take some of the smelliest volumes with us when we leave, for camouflage?" He pictured the two of them, laden with books, sneaking through the dark streets of London.

It was almost funny, until he remembered the scenes he'd witnessed the last time he ventured outside.

'Fresh human meat', Kim had said, only meat didn't stay fresh for very long. Will remembered the smell from the War - and that had been when both sides had been human, when efforts had been made now and then to pretend they were all more or less civilized human beings, who buried their dead.

Somehow, Will didn't think zombies would be too concerned with appearing civilized.

True, Kim's victim might have somehow developped an intense dislike of either sonnets or Shakespeare (Will enjoyed both, though he accepted not everyone might feel the same) and thus behaved with an uncharacteristic lack of respect for the Bard's works, but Will rather suspected its behavior had been typical.

"Weight is a consideration," Kim said. "On the other hand, some armor to protect against bites might come in handy. I confess that's hardly my area of expertise though."

"It's not exactly mine either," Will said, though in his mind, he was already going over possible designs. Like any enlisted man, he'd seen armor, and worn it, and cursed it for being too heavy, too uncomfortable and (inevitably) too ineffective. He'd stripped perfectly intact armor off of corpses - and, admittedly, also armor that had mostly gone the way of its wearer.

"Then I guess we'll have to improvise." Kim smiled, as if he had every confidence in their survival.

Will swallowed. "It might not come to that. If help arrives - someone has to be coming, right? It's London. They can hardly - " He let the sentence trail off. The truth was, he had no idea what was going on in the rest of the country. For all he knew, he and Kim were the last living people in all of Britain.

_Don't,_ he told himself. _Don't start thinking like that._ He had Kim: not the same as having a group of trench mates, of people whose names and life stories you'd earned by heart because there was nothing to do but talk while you were waiting for the next attack, praying that it would never come and sometimes, secretly, guiltily, that it would, because anything was better than the endless waiting.

"They could decide to fire the city," Kim said. "Or bomb it."

Will wanted to say they wouldn't, not London, not while there might still be survivors. He knew better, though; he knew what 'they' thought like. If anything, his recent experience with the War Office had taught him that simply because it was peace time, that didn't mean the people in charge had changed.

'They' would make their decisions from whatever safe place they'd found shelter, and bad luck for anyone less fortunate.

"They'd at least try to send some sort of warning, right?" Will said, less because he believed it and more because he wanted to see what Kim would say, if Kim's beliefs and experiences matched Will's own. (A silly desire; one look at Kim ought to tell anyone that his and Will's life experiences couldn't have been more different.)

"I don't think that's something we should rely on," Kim said. "Of course, I understand your reluctance to simply leave your inventory to anyone who happens to walk inside. There must be some quite valuable and rare editions here."

Will surprised himself by feeling somewhat offended. "I hope you're not suggesting that I'd rate any of these books more highly than a human life. Because if you do - "

Kim raised his hands. "Not for a moment, very sorry to have given offense."

Will swallowed and forced a half-hearted smile to signal forgiveness. He reminded himself that he'd met any number of colleagues whom Kim might have had some justification of accusing of what he'd accused Will. In addition, they'd known one another for less than two days, and for parts of those days, either of them had been sleeping.

"Please," Kim said. "I really am most dreadfully sorry. If there's any way I can make amends - "

"No need for that," Will said quickly, beginning to feel embarrassed and like he'd overreacted to what had, after all, been nothing more than a misunderstanding. "An apology's plenty enough, thanks."

"I feel I've spoilt both the mood and your opinion of me," Kim said. "Which feels a great pity, since I'd very much like to think we were on a steady road to becoming friends."

_Friends._ Will felt a faint sense of guilt for some of the not quite friendly (or rather: entirely too friendly) thoughts he'd had about Kim and Kim's mouth and Kim's hands these past two days.

"Really, as far as I'm concerned, we still are," he said, adding another smile, this one a little less forced, because he did like Kim, and having a friend would be a fine thing all by itself.

"Good. I'm very glad to hear it. A load off my mind." Kim's smile looked open and sincere, and Will wondered if it was his imagination that there was just a bit of extra warmth to it, a hint that Kim might indeed, like Will, be interested in something more than friendship.

"If only it were as easy to deal with the zombies," Will said.

"Yes, well, one problem at a time, eh?" Kim yawned. "Is it my turn for a nap yet?"

"Just about." Will wasn't about to quibble over ten minutes. "I'll wake you if there's any trouble I can't handle by myself." He patted the Messer, to reassure himself it was still there.

Getting close enough to use it was not without risk, but Will wouldn't dream of asking Kim to let him have his pistol when Kim might need it himself - and was far better at handling it besides.

"Feel free to wake me in case of trouble you _can_ handle as well. I'd love to watch," Kim said, which Will suspected was Kim's way of pointing out that Will might make an error in judgment, or simply get unlucky, in which case it would also be Kim's life on the line.

He supposed he appreciated Kim's tact. "All right. I will."

"As my best, not to mention my one and only friend might say: you're an absolute darling." Kim grinned. "Sorry. I've been holding that one back for three days now."

"Two days," Will corrected, unable to resist grinning back. "We hadn't even met three days ago. Clearly, you need your sleep. Go get some. I'll keep an eye on the shop. Oh, and you've got at least two friends now. Trust me on that."

"I am unworthy," Kim said. "Thank you from the bottom of my still beating heart. I'm both pleased and honored." He yawned again. "Also, indeed quite knackered, so I'll accept your kind offer."

"You won't do me or yourself any good if you're too tired to aim," Will said, smiling.

For a moment, he thought Kim had a reply to that - likely something half-joking and overly dramatic again, but Kim seemed to think better of it at the last second, merely nodding instead and vanishing through the door leading to the room Will had turned into a home of sorts.

Will looked around the shop, feeling like the books were staring back at him again, perhaps judging him just a bit for preferring Kim's company over theirs.


End file.
